Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-05-20
CHAPTER VII.


After waiting q few minutes jess said
Good night and went straight TO Bessie's
roOm Her sister had undressed and was sit
ting on her bed wrapped in a blue dressing
gown that suited her fair complexion adj
mirably, and with very Responding ex-
preston on her beautiful face Bessie was
one of those people who are easily elated and
easily cast down.
jess came up to her and kissed her
"What is it, lovct' she said. Her sister
'Nonld never have OWNED the gnawing anx-
iety that was eating at her heart as she said it.
"Oh, jess, I'm so glad that you have come.
/ do so want You to advise me; that is, to tell
ne what you think and she paused.
you must tell me what it is all about first
Bessie dear she said, sitting down opposite
10 her in such a position that her face was
shaded from the light Bessie tapped her
naked foot against the mating with which
ehe little room was carpeted. 1t was an ex-
,ceedingly pretty foot
"Well, dear old girl, it is just this-Frank
Muller has been here to ask me to marry
MIN"
"Oh," said jess, with sigh of relief, $50
shat was all!' She felt as though ton
weight had been lifted from her heart She
mad expected that bit of news for some time
HE wanted me to marry him, and when
said | would not he behaved lille-like"-
Like Boer," suggested jess.
Like brute" went on Bessie, with en-
ohasis.
80 you don't like Frank Muller?"
"Like him! | loathe the man. You dent
know how loathe him, with his handsome,
bad face and his cruel eyes. always loathed
him, and now hate him, too, But l will
tell you all about it; and she did, with many
feminine comments and interpretations
jess sat quite still and waited till she had
inished
"Well, dear" she said, at last "you are not
going to marry him. and so there is an end of
It. You can't detest the man moro than do
I have watched him for years." she went on,
with rising anger, "and | tell you that Frank
Muller is liar and traitor That man
would betray his own father if he thought it
20 his own interest to $50. He hates uncle
I ana sure he does, although he pretends to
be SO fond of him. l am sure that he has
sried often and often to stir up the Beers
against him. Old Hans Coetzee told me that
he denounced him to the Weld Cornet as an
'utlandcr' and 'verdomde Engelsmann'
about two years before the annexation, and
Sried 80 get him to persuade the Landdrost to
report him as a law breaker to the Rad
while all the time he was pretending to be SO
friendly. Then in the Sikukuni war it was
Frank Muller who caused them to commander
lncle's two best wagons and the spans He
gave none himself, nothing but a couple
Of bags of meal He is wicked fellow.
Bessie, and dangerous fellow; but he has
more brains and more power about him than
any man in the Transvaal, and you will have
to be very careful, or lie will do us all bad
5urn.7
"Ah." said Bessie; "well, he can't do much
now that the country is English"
81 am not so sure of that | am not so
sure that the country is going to stop
English You laugh at me for reading the
lomo papers, but | see things there that
make me doubtful The other people arc in
power now in England, and one does not
know what they may do; you heard what
uncle said tonight. They might give us up
80 the Beers, You must remember that we
tar away people are only the counters with
which they play their game"
"Nonsense, jess" said Bessie Indignantly,
"Englishmen are not like that When they
say thing they stick to it."
"They used to, you mean" answered jess
with sbrug, and got up from her chair to sc
20 bed.
Bessie began to fldget her white feet over
oEe another.
"Stop bit, jess dear" she said. 81 want tc
speak to you about netting else"
Jess sat, or rather dropped, back into hel
chair and her pale face turned paler thar
ever, but Bessie blushed rosy red and hest
tated
at is about Capt Mel" she said at length
"Oh," answered jess with little laugh, anC
her voice sounded strange and cold in hei
own ears. "IIas he been following Franz
Mullers example and proposing to you, tool'
MOO" sald Bessie, "DuU'-anu mere 81,
rose, and sitting on a stool by her elder sis
ter's chair, rested her forehead against he
mee-"but love him and l believe that HI
loves me, This morning he told inc that
was the prettiest woman he had seen at homt
Or abroad, and the sweetest, too; and no yol
know" she said, looking up and giving {
happy little laugh, 81 think he meant it, too,
care you joking, Bessie, or are you really
m eaTnesat"
an earnestl all, but that am, and an
not ashamed to say it, ! fell in love will
John Mel when he killed that cock ostrich
Tie looked so strong and savage as ne Tough
with it, 1t is fine thing to see a man pu
ont all his strength. And then he is such
gentlemanl-so different from the men w
see round here. Oh, yes, fell in love will
him at once, and / have got deeper an(
deeper in love with him ever since and if h
does not marry me think that it will breal